Hurricanes have devastating effects on structures, equipment and buildings subjected to its gale forces. The violent winds and heavy rain of just one hurricane can cause billions of dollars of damage while leaving people homeless and crippling the local economy for years to come. Particularly vulnerable to hurricane force winds are low-rise buildings, commercial and non-commercial signage, equipment and the like.
It is especially difficult to protect commercial and non-commercial signs as they are usually quite large and placed at significant heights. Some have attempted to protect signs by nailing sheets of plywood over such structures. Others have attempted to merely drape tarps over the structures. However, the structures remain subject to the same wind loading forces and therefore, often still sustain significant damage. Further, it is time consuming and costly to place plywood boards or tarps over signs that are bulky and difficult to reach. Back-lit signs used by commercial establishments to attract customers are especially difficult to protect because the signs have flat, planar surfaces which are not aerodynamic. The impact of falling and blowing debris and the heavy rains also easily destroys backlit signs. Often, there is not enough time before a storm hits to board-up all structures and therefore, signs are sometimes even neglected and left vulnerable to the hurricane forces.
What is needed, then, is a sign protection system that is fast and easy to attach. The need also exists for a cost-effective system that allows signs to become more impact resistant and aerodynamic to reduce the wind drag coefficient and thus, reduce the total wind loading forces